28 Nov 5 Money-Saving Reasons Why A Bookkeeper Is Essential for Your Business

Does Every Business Need A Bookkeeper?

Bookkeeping is important in any business whether small or large, neglecting this fact will only have an adverse effect on your bottom line.

Some businesses lacking a dedicated bookkeeping system fail completely due to financial mismanagement, while others continue to operate on razor-thin margins supported by flimsy accounting records – or none at all.

By definition, bookkeeping is the process of recording your business’s financial transactions, it’s the primary, essential step in guiding your business toward success and growth.

Bookkeeping involves classifying, reporting and analyzing the financial data of your business. Without it, your business is essentially flying blind.

And dead reckoning is no way to grow a business.

The importance of bookkeeping for your business cannot be emphasized enough, take a look at our top five reasons why a dedicated bookkeeping system is vital to the health and growth of your business.

5 Reasons Why Your Business Needs A Bookkeeper

1. Get a Clear Picture of the Financial Health of Your Business

As a business owner, if you don’t have an accurate handle on your business income and expenses how do you know if you’re actually making any money?

A clear picture is better than a cloudy picture any day. Without someone consistently monitoring the financial health of your business, business will suffer.

You need to see how your business is really performing, a bookkeeper helps you do that way better than trying to DIY.

2. You Aren’t Very Good At Math

And that’s ok!

Maybe you’re one hell of a craftsman carpenter, or maybe you can serve up some scintillatingly scrumptious sushi, but do you know how to calculate & process payroll or e-file a sales tax return?

Knowing your product or service better than most and having an unwavering passion in it are qualities that are just as important to long-term business growth as keeping a close eye on the books.

A dedicated bookkeeper takes all of that hard work off your hands and allows you to focus on your business and your customers…without the need for a degree in accounting.

3. You’re All Thumbs in Quickbooks Pro

In case you don’t know what Quickbooks is, it’s accounting software made by Intuit that is used for financial reports.

Accountants & bookkeepers know Quickbooks like the back of their hand, most business owners however, do not.

With all the data types, formulas & functions, Quickbooks has a steep learning curve…akin to learning Mandarin. For the average business owner, Quickbooks can be confusing and altogether impossible to use efficiently.

Enter your dedicated bookkeeper who has all the knowledge, understands the playing field, and has years of experience using one of the most popular & essential financial tools in existence.

4. You Don’t Even Track Cash Flow

Full stop.

If you don’t track cash flow, you have only a general idea – at best – of how well your business is performing. Monitoring cash in and cash out can help you make better decisions — before it’s too late.

Cash flow is defined as a company’s operating income minus expenditures. It’s the money that is coming in and going out of your business each month.

Lack of cash is one of the biggest reasons small businesses fail. The Small Business Administration says that “inadequate cash reserves” are a top reason startups don’t succeed.

If you don’t monitor cash flow, your business needs someone who does, that’d be your bookkeeper.

5. The IRS Doesn’t Care If You Don’t Know Bookkeeping

Actually, they probably bank on it.

Dedicated bookkeeping keeps track of financial information and documents in order to accurately help your business prepare for annual taxes.

What happens if you’re audited by the IRS?

With most business owners preferring to endure a less than routine root canal as opposed to an invasive tax audit, having a bookkeeper helps you both in preventing & dealing with a tax audit.

Furthermore, a bookkeeper helps at tax time too – audit or no audit.

Tax returns are easier for your accountant come tax time when you present them with an organized Balance Sheet, Cash Flow and Profit & Loss information. Whereas sloppy bookkeeping may result in overlooking favorable business tax deductions. (you paying more taxes than you should).

Having a dedicated bookkeeper saves you time and money – at tax time, in case of an audit, and all year ’round!

Why Does Your Business Need A Bookkeeper?

Basically if you are the owner of the business, you should be “running” the business, not sitting down to do paperwork at night and missing out on family time.

As a business owner, your time is better spent growing, marketing, running and managing your business.

Having someone like a spouse or other employee who isn’t qualified to handle your financial matters will only cost you money in the long run.

Having a bookkeeper is both preventative maintenance and proactive financial monitoring for your business.